The crimson liquid spilled from the wound again. Sarah stared at it in wonder, amazed that she had done it. The knife blade was still in her hand, dripping with her own blood. The pain coursed through her body, its loving sting… how she longed for more.

“Sarah, honey? Are you in there,” her mother called from the other side of the bathroom door, interrupting her thoughts.

“Yeah! I’m taking a bath, do you mind?!”

“Well sorry... I just wondered where you were.”

Sarah sighed quietly, “It’s okay mom, I’ll be out in a bit.”

She watched as the blood slowly trickled down her leg and into the water. She hadn’t lied, she had been taking a bath… but now she just sat on the edge of the tub, feet in the water, watching as the blood made a beautiful swirling red pattern. It always amazed her, how the blood stayed suspended in the water, swirling into a pattern. It only happened if there was a small amount of blood; it would sink quickly if there was too much.

I wish I had my sketchpad... it looks so pretty... almost like an abstract painting.

But the sketchpad had been taken from her, by her own best friend no less. Parker knew about her habit and her problems… he had taken the book from her in hopes that the getting rid of the disturbing images of mutilation and blood would help her to stop. The loss of her artwork hurt Sarah deeply, and that was what brought her here.

Thinking about Parker and her sketchbook brought the pain back again, so she set the sharp blade against the milky white skin on her leg again and braced herself. Quickly she jerked the knife, pressing down at the same time. The steel bit into her flesh, severing skin and muscle tissue as well as a few blood vessels. Again the sting came upon her and the painful thoughts were pushed aside as the ecstasy of release overtook her. Her leg felt a little sticky, but it was warm… and the blood tickled as it ran down to the water.

The pattern it made was beautiful, and the effect was enhanced by the blood that had already sank to the bottom of the white tub. It swirled in two different directions at once. She moved her foot ever so slightly and the blood began to dance. She watched, fascinated, until the pain began to recede again.

I should probably clean up and get out of here.

Sarah scooped up a few handfuls of water and poured them onto her wounded leg, washing off all of the blood. She could now see the two long gashes that she had made, and how well they contrasted with her white skin and the even whiter scars from before. It formed a cute little crisscrossing pattern like what a snowflake must look like under a microscope. She reminded herself to draw it later.

Slowly she lifted her leg out of the tub and dried it off, the blood staining the cloth. She picked up a roll of bandages and wrapped her bleeding limb so that she could get dressed. The crimson stain started to show itself right away, and it made Sarah smile… she loved that color so.

After a few moments, she was dressed and ready to go. The water had been drained, and the knife wiped clean and stashed in her jacket pocket. She walked out of the bathroom and into her room. Her mother came in a minute later.

“What took you so long Sarah? I was beginning to think that you had drowned,” she said with a chuckle.

Sarah looked at her mother, wishing that she wouldn’t come bug her all of the time. She gave a small smile as she picked up her bag and headed for the door.

“I cut myself shaving… it took a bit to stop the bleeding,” she answered as she opened the front door to leave.

“Oh, I see,” her mother replied with a small frown on her face. “ Well, I see you are off to Parker’s… don’t be home late.”

“Alright mom, see ya later!”

Sarah closed the door behind her and began her walk to her best friend’s house to get her artwork back. She kept that picture of the blood and the wounds in her mind as she walked. She also had the image of her mother’s frown in her head.

Clueless... utterly clueless....